I wrote this a while ago, and did not feel like posting since I don't think I expressed my stance very well. But I think some people might never think of this issue so I am posting this anyways....
Dasa, my friend in ICLP, had her final Chinese presentation the other day about nationalism of the Americans and the Iraqi War. She said, no matter which party you supported in the last election, the Americans are all responsible for what the government does in the world. Nationalism (or patriotism?) is good in the original sense but excessive nationalism is harmful. It's easy to leave the country when you are frustrated by its government, but there is a greater need for us to stay and change it..
I think Dasa has a healthy way of thinking and a quite strong sense of responsibility. I am not an American, and probably do not understand what it feels like when your own government invades another country. For me a state or nation is one of many things you happen to belong to. I belong to a family, a group, a school, a city, a culture, a society, a state, a planet, etc, of course you cannot completely detach yourself from any of these, but I feel a little awkward when people say I am responsible for what they are and how they are. People might say, "You receive all the benefits from your own society, how can you leave it behind without returning anything?" Yes, I have received and enjoyed the health care, protection, education, and other benefits provided by the institutions or the community I belonged to. But does this entail some kind of duty to repay it in some way? To be honest, I do not have any sense of obligation to any specific group or society.
Still, I also have a sense of mission about security studies, and a sense of responsibility towards "the ideal world" which I envisage in my mind. Dasa is probably the same. Unlike me, she can vote and influence the current super-power. I might not be as politically laid-back as now if I were an American, too.
Posted by sayaka at June 3, 2004 11:20 PM | TrackBack